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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kid — child
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bark — to shout
  7. march — music
  8. march — the month
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. cell — a phone
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. march — the month
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. ball — a dance
  20. clip — a video
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cell — in biology
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com